I’m writing this on the overnight train from Xi’An to Beijing. Will send it tomorrow after we arrive.
At this point, the trip is starting to feel more like an endurance challenge than an urban planning tour. People are tired, a few are sick, and the non-stop pace of the travel is definitely taking its toll. Still, everyone is in good spirits and we continue to be fascinated and energized by the experience of being here (barely).
We checked out of the hotel at 7:50 this morning and boarded a bus for the Terra Cotta Warriors. It was an hour's drive from Xi’An. Again, the countryside looked ravaged by bad development, industry, and mining—but the most noticeable thing was the terrible air quality. Brown skies and visibility of less than a mile the entire way, and the smell of incinerator smoke in the air. We got to our destination at around 9 AM.
The Warriors complex had a theme park atmosphere, with massive parking lots, huge billboards, souvenir stands, and a 40’ tall replica of a Chi dynasty warrior. After going through two sets of turn-styles, you follow Disney-like walkways to a grand-looking plaza lined by enormous pavillions. We were greeted by a guide and given an overview of the warriors and the history of the Chi dynasty (circa 221 BC). The first pavilion was pretty ho-hum, and contained miniature bronze chariots and horses.
The second pavilion was amazing. It resembled a blimp hangar but several times larger. Elevated walkways went around the perimeter, enclosing an enormous pit where the warrior statues had been excavated. The sight of 6,000 life-size clay warriors more than two millennia old (on the very site where they’d been excavated) was remarkable. The experience was diminished a little bit by the hordes of tourists snapping photos, the soft-spoken guide who was reciting her script by memory (with very little English beyond that), the relentless emphasis on the gift shop and souvenir purchases, and the fact that people were just plain tired and hot.
By 12:30, we were back on the bus and headed back for Xi’An. It was very hot and smoggy, and we had no hotel rooms to chill out. After we arrived n town, some of us went out for lunch at the dumpling place near our hotel. No English language menus, but the restaurant had roving waitresses with pushcarts so we were able to just point to the items we wanted.
No rest for the weary—the next event started at 1:40. We had to load our suitcases on to the bus, then head to a bicycle rental place at the South Gate of the City Wall. About half of us rented bicycles and did a 90-minute ride on the top of the City Wall. The wall is 38 feet high 45 feet wide, and 10 miles long. It was originally built many centuries ago and has recently been restored as a tourist attraction. The wall forms a perfect rectangle, with a moat along the perimeter. Xi’An itself has a rectangular street grid, which is pretty astonishing when you contemplate that the streets were laid more than 600 years ago.
Riding on the wall was loads of fun. We were the only ones up there and had the place to ourselves. Unfortunately, it was 95 degrees, brown skies, and lots of grit and dust in the air. No bike lanes—you just sort of bounced along over round cobblestone bricks, going up and down ramps when you reached a city gate. We stopped a few times for water, but mostly just rode on and on, looking out over the city below and the marveling at the brown-colored sooty air.
After the bike ride, we had a whopping 90 minutes of down time before we needed to assemble again for the night train--however, no hotel room or place to crash. I walked around the shopping area, bought some groceries for the train ride, and found a hotel with a public bathroom where I washed up a bit. I was desperate for a shower, but no such luck (for me or any of us).
We were back on the bus by 6:45, headed for the train station. The bus dropped us off several blocks from the station, so we had to carry our bags the rest of the way, being chased by street vendors with dolleys offering to carry our things. The train station was pandemonium, but we made our way through security and into the waiting area.
We boarded the train at around 7:45, with some confusion about seating assignments. The train is a soft-sleeper, which means you're in a tiny compartment with two pairs of bunk beds. Most of our group is sharing compartments with one another, but Hugh Graham and I are in a compartment with a Chinese husband-wife couple who speak no English. They are sitting next to me as I type this, probably talking about what an odd thing it is that I’m on my laptop.
The train is kind of fun, though. If it had a shower I’d be a happy camper.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Xi'An
At 5:00 AM this morning, 17 bleary-eyed travelers were roused by “morning calls” for our flight to Xi’An. We assembled in the lobby around 5:30 AM, where the hotel had prepared an unappetizing breakfast consisting of boiled eggs and a cold pork bun. We were on the bus before 6 AM, arriving at the brand new Nanjing Airport about a half-hour later.
The flight to Xi’An was easy and uneventful. Xi’An is about 1000 miles west of Nanjing at has a population of 6 million. It is one of the oldest cities in China and the home of thousands of archaeological sites, along with important pagodas and other places of great historic significance. It is best known by Westerners as being the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors, which we’ll be visiting tomorrow.
Initial impressions of the City as we were driving in from the airport were not good. The air was brown, the landscape flat and dusty, and the development pretty bleak. The City has a lot of heavy industry (big manufacturing plants with tall smokestacks, riverbanks that have been decimated by sand and gravel mining, and power plants). On the drive in from the airport, we passed through wheat fields and several small villages that had a third-world quality, with a lot of garbage and crumbling buildings. Once we got inside the ancient city walls, things improved quite a bit, and the city had that boomtown look that we’ve seen now in most Chinese cities. Skyscrapers, big construction sites, enormous wide boulevards, tons of traffic, and lots of street activity.
Unfortunately, tonight’s hotel is below par, with smoky rooms that seem more suited for rent-by-the-hour than by the day. On the other hand, there’s an entertaining mix of items in the in-room toiletries bin, including packets of male and female “sexual enhancement” lotions and potions (10 Yuen each).
After checking in (around noon), we headed aacross the street to a restaurant specializing in local Shanxi cuisine. This was very entertaining. We were seated at round tables, each given an empty bowl, and brought a platter of doughy disks that had the consistency of bagels. Watching other tables and patrons, we understood that each diner was supposed to take a dough disk and shred it into miniscule pieces, creating a pile of “bagel crumbs” in their soup bowl. The waitress then collects the bowls and ladles mutton and gravy on the bread, returning it as a stew. Each of us had our bowls rejected several times by the waitress because our bread morsels weren’t small enough. We realized that the bread ripping was a social activity, like playing cards or doing a jigsaw puzzle. You sit around with your friends shredding bread for half an hour and then have a meal.
I was seated with Jim and Barbara Kautz at a table we shared with three business men. They got a big kick out of our food preparation confusion and tried to help us along. No English, of course. Lots of smiles, and they even shared their beer with us.
At 1:30, about half the group went off to see the Big Goose Pagoda (good reviews from those who went). The rest of us used the time to explore the City on our own. It was 96 degrees with hazy sunshine, so the underground pedestrian malls came in handy.
I set out for the Muslim Quarter, an ancient part of the City close to the hotel. I wandered down narrow streets lined with tiny shops and street carts, passing residents with skullcaps and chadors. Eventually I came to the Great Mosque, which I think may be the largest mosque in China. I paid the admission and spent about 15 minutes inside. After I exited, I continued toward the Bell and Drum Towers (two large pagodas in the city center). The character of the neighborhood changed immediately, with scads of French and German tourists and a “souvenir bazaar” ambience. I did a quick tour of the Drum Tower and then headed toward the main shopping district.
The amazing thing is that just one block away from the labyrinth of ancient alleys and pushcarts there are gigantic department stores, with perfume counters for miles, flat screen TVs, Nike sneakers, and high-end clothing. The poor Bell Tower—the city’s most famous landmark—sits in the middle of an enormous roundabout and the only way to get to it is through an underground shopping mall. I walked several blocks through the shopping district, passing Emporio Armani, Dior, Calvin Klein, and three Starbucks coffees, and then did an about face and returned to the hotel.
At 4:45, we were ushered into minivans and taken to a dinner theater to see the Tang Dynasty Dumpling Dinner Show. This is a Disney-style Chinese variety show showcasing traditional Tang costumes, dancing, and singing. It was a little hokey, but entertaining. The sets were spectacular. Following the show, we were led into an adjoining dining room where we sampled 20 different varieties of Chinese dumplings. It was a very filling meal, and the food was excellent.
We returned to the hotel at 7:30 and had a short 20 minute break before our next event—a tea ceremony with a “local expert” in tourism and urban design. The expert turned out to be an Australian travel agent living in Xi’An, but she was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to talk with. She told us a bit about how the City is developing, how the tourism industry is influencing its growth, and how tourism among Chinese residents has exploded as the country has prospered. One of the intriguing things was her description of the government’s desire to tear down the Muslim Quarter and replace it with modern superblock development. It seems they are only just now realizing that people go there for the historic, ethnic character. It was a great conversation, set in a spectacular a 400-year old restored Ming Dynasty estate in the Moslem Quarter. And the tea wasn’t bad either.
It is 10:30 and I’ve just returned from that event. Right now, the streets are even more packed with people (mostly Chinese tourists) and street vendors then they were at sunset. It is still very hot outside.
This is going to be my last entry until Tuesday. Tomorrow night, we are checking out at 7:45 AM, driving an hour to see the Warriors (Terra Cotta, not Golden State), driving back to town to rent bicycles for a ride on the restored City wall, doing more walking tours, and then boarding a train for Beijing at 6:30 PM! When we arrive in Beijing on Tuesday morning, we immediately start our next event.
I am not particularly looking forward to a 13-hour overnighter on a Chinese train, especially after a full day of hiking and biking in 100 degree heat. But hey, I’m sure I’ll have some good stories to tell!
The flight to Xi’An was easy and uneventful. Xi’An is about 1000 miles west of Nanjing at has a population of 6 million. It is one of the oldest cities in China and the home of thousands of archaeological sites, along with important pagodas and other places of great historic significance. It is best known by Westerners as being the site of the Terra Cotta Warriors, which we’ll be visiting tomorrow.
Initial impressions of the City as we were driving in from the airport were not good. The air was brown, the landscape flat and dusty, and the development pretty bleak. The City has a lot of heavy industry (big manufacturing plants with tall smokestacks, riverbanks that have been decimated by sand and gravel mining, and power plants). On the drive in from the airport, we passed through wheat fields and several small villages that had a third-world quality, with a lot of garbage and crumbling buildings. Once we got inside the ancient city walls, things improved quite a bit, and the city had that boomtown look that we’ve seen now in most Chinese cities. Skyscrapers, big construction sites, enormous wide boulevards, tons of traffic, and lots of street activity.
Unfortunately, tonight’s hotel is below par, with smoky rooms that seem more suited for rent-by-the-hour than by the day. On the other hand, there’s an entertaining mix of items in the in-room toiletries bin, including packets of male and female “sexual enhancement” lotions and potions (10 Yuen each).
After checking in (around noon), we headed aacross the street to a restaurant specializing in local Shanxi cuisine. This was very entertaining. We were seated at round tables, each given an empty bowl, and brought a platter of doughy disks that had the consistency of bagels. Watching other tables and patrons, we understood that each diner was supposed to take a dough disk and shred it into miniscule pieces, creating a pile of “bagel crumbs” in their soup bowl. The waitress then collects the bowls and ladles mutton and gravy on the bread, returning it as a stew. Each of us had our bowls rejected several times by the waitress because our bread morsels weren’t small enough. We realized that the bread ripping was a social activity, like playing cards or doing a jigsaw puzzle. You sit around with your friends shredding bread for half an hour and then have a meal.
I was seated with Jim and Barbara Kautz at a table we shared with three business men. They got a big kick out of our food preparation confusion and tried to help us along. No English, of course. Lots of smiles, and they even shared their beer with us.
At 1:30, about half the group went off to see the Big Goose Pagoda (good reviews from those who went). The rest of us used the time to explore the City on our own. It was 96 degrees with hazy sunshine, so the underground pedestrian malls came in handy.
I set out for the Muslim Quarter, an ancient part of the City close to the hotel. I wandered down narrow streets lined with tiny shops and street carts, passing residents with skullcaps and chadors. Eventually I came to the Great Mosque, which I think may be the largest mosque in China. I paid the admission and spent about 15 minutes inside. After I exited, I continued toward the Bell and Drum Towers (two large pagodas in the city center). The character of the neighborhood changed immediately, with scads of French and German tourists and a “souvenir bazaar” ambience. I did a quick tour of the Drum Tower and then headed toward the main shopping district.
The amazing thing is that just one block away from the labyrinth of ancient alleys and pushcarts there are gigantic department stores, with perfume counters for miles, flat screen TVs, Nike sneakers, and high-end clothing. The poor Bell Tower—the city’s most famous landmark—sits in the middle of an enormous roundabout and the only way to get to it is through an underground shopping mall. I walked several blocks through the shopping district, passing Emporio Armani, Dior, Calvin Klein, and three Starbucks coffees, and then did an about face and returned to the hotel.
At 4:45, we were ushered into minivans and taken to a dinner theater to see the Tang Dynasty Dumpling Dinner Show. This is a Disney-style Chinese variety show showcasing traditional Tang costumes, dancing, and singing. It was a little hokey, but entertaining. The sets were spectacular. Following the show, we were led into an adjoining dining room where we sampled 20 different varieties of Chinese dumplings. It was a very filling meal, and the food was excellent.
We returned to the hotel at 7:30 and had a short 20 minute break before our next event—a tea ceremony with a “local expert” in tourism and urban design. The expert turned out to be an Australian travel agent living in Xi’An, but she was very knowledgeable and a pleasure to talk with. She told us a bit about how the City is developing, how the tourism industry is influencing its growth, and how tourism among Chinese residents has exploded as the country has prospered. One of the intriguing things was her description of the government’s desire to tear down the Muslim Quarter and replace it with modern superblock development. It seems they are only just now realizing that people go there for the historic, ethnic character. It was a great conversation, set in a spectacular a 400-year old restored Ming Dynasty estate in the Moslem Quarter. And the tea wasn’t bad either.
It is 10:30 and I’ve just returned from that event. Right now, the streets are even more packed with people (mostly Chinese tourists) and street vendors then they were at sunset. It is still very hot outside.
This is going to be my last entry until Tuesday. Tomorrow night, we are checking out at 7:45 AM, driving an hour to see the Warriors (Terra Cotta, not Golden State), driving back to town to rent bicycles for a ride on the restored City wall, doing more walking tours, and then boarding a train for Beijing at 6:30 PM! When we arrive in Beijing on Tuesday morning, we immediately start our next event.
I am not particularly looking forward to a 13-hour overnighter on a Chinese train, especially after a full day of hiking and biking in 100 degree heat. But hey, I’m sure I’ll have some good stories to tell!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Nanjing
What a difference a blue sky makes.
I’ve just come back to my room after a wonderful long (6 or 7 mile) walk across the City of Nanjing. This is a terrific place, prosperous and full of energy and life. The walk was a bit of an adventure, as I only had a very rough street map with no English on it (just Chinese characters). I think I’ve invented a new sport called “urban orienteering”— navigating a city using the angles of the streets, the direction of the sun, and the location of rivers, canals, and landmarks. Nanjing is the perfect city for playing this game. The dry, sunny 80 degree weather and blue skies certainly helped.
The day began leisurely. Breakfast in the hotel was pretty awful—you ask for coffee and get a glass of hot water and packet of Nescafe instant. The meal consists of a rice gruel pronounced “Con-jhee” accompanied by different Chinese condiments (pickled ginger, green beans, etc.). At 10 AM, we met in the lobby and were met by a tour guide named “Ya-Ya” (a sophomore at Nanjing Univeristy). This girl had overdosed on happy pills—she was like a character (or caricature) from a movie. If she was any more perky I think her head would have exploded. After we boarded the bus, she sang a Chinese song to us and told us a little about Nanjing. The bus made its way across the City into a vast and very beautiful park called Purple Mountain. Lovely cedar trees, grassy lawns, forests, and flowering plum trees. Lots of cool looking attractions and tour buses everywhere.
After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the Mausoleum of Sun Yat Sen. This is an extraordinary and imposing monument that sits high on a hill overlooking the City. You approach it via very wide stairs that go on and on forever, sort of like Sacre Coeur in Paris but about five times higher. The mausoleum structure is very grand and impressive, surrounded by formal gardens and sitting/reflecting areas. From the top, you get a nice view out over the city and the surrounding park. There’s some historical information on Sun Yat Sen and the construction of the monument. The place was absolutely mobbed, and we were told that Chinese tourists view the site as a sort of national shrine.
Our group re-assembled at the base of the monument after about 90 minutes, got back on the bus and returned to the City. We made a short stop at the ancient City wall and canal, disembarked to take photos, and then continued back to the pedestrian area where we’re staying. We had a group lunch at a “dumpling” fast food place, which was pretty good. The afternoon was “free time.”
I chose to go walking, heading into the labyrinth of alleys and narrow streets near the hotel, with my sights set on the Central Business District. After about an hour, I came to a very wide boulevard which I managed to locate on my Chinese map. I followed it a few blocks and came to a subway station. The subway just opened a few months ago and is so new that the stations still have “new car smell.” After two stops, I got off and went up to the street. I was in a really busy downtown shopping district with a huge underground mall, tons of department stores, skyscrapers, and a gigantic urban plaza with thousands of people strolling, laughing, shopping, and having fun. The atmosphere reminded me of Times Square—very different than what I was expecting. Then again, Nanjing does have five million people, so maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.
It’s hard to contemplate the horrors that happened in this city just 70 years ago when it was invaded by the Japanese. More than 300,000 people were slaughtered (the “Rape of Nanjing”) and the City was occupied by a brutal regime for several years. It’s also hard to envision that Nanjing is 5,000 years old. There are ancient ruins in various places around the City, and so much more we won’t get to see during our short visit.
I actually found a Starbucks Coffee on my walk—right in the center of the city. No one spoke English, but I managed to get my coffee fix. When I walked out the door, much to my surprise I saw a second Starbucks on the other side of the street. Run! It’s coming!
I walked for several more miles, and then headed back in the direction I came from. One thing I observed is that I was the only Caucasian person for virtually the entire walk, and I did get a fair number of stares. People seemed very curious and friendly, and I never sensed any hostility or discomfort.
It is now 7:20 PM on Saturday evening. The streets outside are just packed with people and I can hear live music and singing from my hotel room. I am going to get some dinner (I don’t know where everyone else is) and probably make it an early night.
Tomorrow morning our flight to Xi’An is at 8 AM, and we’ve been told to meet in the lobby at 5:45 AM. UGH.
I’ve just come back to my room after a wonderful long (6 or 7 mile) walk across the City of Nanjing. This is a terrific place, prosperous and full of energy and life. The walk was a bit of an adventure, as I only had a very rough street map with no English on it (just Chinese characters). I think I’ve invented a new sport called “urban orienteering”— navigating a city using the angles of the streets, the direction of the sun, and the location of rivers, canals, and landmarks. Nanjing is the perfect city for playing this game. The dry, sunny 80 degree weather and blue skies certainly helped.
The day began leisurely. Breakfast in the hotel was pretty awful—you ask for coffee and get a glass of hot water and packet of Nescafe instant. The meal consists of a rice gruel pronounced “Con-jhee” accompanied by different Chinese condiments (pickled ginger, green beans, etc.). At 10 AM, we met in the lobby and were met by a tour guide named “Ya-Ya” (a sophomore at Nanjing Univeristy). This girl had overdosed on happy pills—she was like a character (or caricature) from a movie. If she was any more perky I think her head would have exploded. After we boarded the bus, she sang a Chinese song to us and told us a little about Nanjing. The bus made its way across the City into a vast and very beautiful park called Purple Mountain. Lovely cedar trees, grassy lawns, forests, and flowering plum trees. Lots of cool looking attractions and tour buses everywhere.
After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the Mausoleum of Sun Yat Sen. This is an extraordinary and imposing monument that sits high on a hill overlooking the City. You approach it via very wide stairs that go on and on forever, sort of like Sacre Coeur in Paris but about five times higher. The mausoleum structure is very grand and impressive, surrounded by formal gardens and sitting/reflecting areas. From the top, you get a nice view out over the city and the surrounding park. There’s some historical information on Sun Yat Sen and the construction of the monument. The place was absolutely mobbed, and we were told that Chinese tourists view the site as a sort of national shrine.
Our group re-assembled at the base of the monument after about 90 minutes, got back on the bus and returned to the City. We made a short stop at the ancient City wall and canal, disembarked to take photos, and then continued back to the pedestrian area where we’re staying. We had a group lunch at a “dumpling” fast food place, which was pretty good. The afternoon was “free time.”
I chose to go walking, heading into the labyrinth of alleys and narrow streets near the hotel, with my sights set on the Central Business District. After about an hour, I came to a very wide boulevard which I managed to locate on my Chinese map. I followed it a few blocks and came to a subway station. The subway just opened a few months ago and is so new that the stations still have “new car smell.” After two stops, I got off and went up to the street. I was in a really busy downtown shopping district with a huge underground mall, tons of department stores, skyscrapers, and a gigantic urban plaza with thousands of people strolling, laughing, shopping, and having fun. The atmosphere reminded me of Times Square—very different than what I was expecting. Then again, Nanjing does have five million people, so maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.
It’s hard to contemplate the horrors that happened in this city just 70 years ago when it was invaded by the Japanese. More than 300,000 people were slaughtered (the “Rape of Nanjing”) and the City was occupied by a brutal regime for several years. It’s also hard to envision that Nanjing is 5,000 years old. There are ancient ruins in various places around the City, and so much more we won’t get to see during our short visit.
I actually found a Starbucks Coffee on my walk—right in the center of the city. No one spoke English, but I managed to get my coffee fix. When I walked out the door, much to my surprise I saw a second Starbucks on the other side of the street. Run! It’s coming!
I walked for several more miles, and then headed back in the direction I came from. One thing I observed is that I was the only Caucasian person for virtually the entire walk, and I did get a fair number of stares. People seemed very curious and friendly, and I never sensed any hostility or discomfort.
It is now 7:20 PM on Saturday evening. The streets outside are just packed with people and I can hear live music and singing from my hotel room. I am going to get some dinner (I don’t know where everyone else is) and probably make it an early night.
Tomorrow morning our flight to Xi’An is at 8 AM, and we’ve been told to meet in the lobby at 5:45 AM. UGH.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Lost In Translation
This morning (Friday), about half the group went on a very fast trip to the Suzhou Silk Museum (from 8:30-9:30 AM); the other half started the day at a more leisurely pace. The hotel served a “western style” buffet breakfast that included coffee, eggs, bacon, sausage, croissants, and a big platter of cold French fries.
At 10 AM, we all reconnoitered in the lobby and boarded our chartered bus for the train station. The bus is standard size, but the streets leading to the hotel were so narrow that people actually had to pull back their store awnings and umbrellas to let us pass through. We made our way back through the construction zone on foot, eventually arriving in the boarding area at the railway station. Shortly after 11, an announcement was made (in Chinese) and hundreds of people began rushing out of the waiting room and on to the platform. We followed the flow. Dragon informed us that the train paused to let passengers off and on for exactly two minutes, which meant all 17 of us (and our luggage) had to move quickly.
After we boarded, the bullet train sailed along to Nanjing, a distance of about 150 miles. The trip took just 90 minutes. It was interesting to watch the scenery flash by along the way—we went through three cities with populations of two million people or more, and I had never heard of any of them. Most of the route was lined with tract after tract of six-story walk up apartment buildings, all arranged like sideways dominos. There was construction and new development everywhere---mostly mid-rise and high-rise housing with occasional big industrial parks in between.
We arrived in Nanjing at around 12:30 and made our way to our bus. The railway station was more like an airport, set on the shores of an attractive lake with a view across to the City skyline. From that vantage point, Nanjing looked much more like an American city than Shanghai or Suzhow. We drove across town to our hotel, which is located in a “pedestrian-only” quarter of the City. I always thought “pedestrian only” meant cars were prohibited, but apparently here it just means the cars drive on the sidewalks and honk so you move out of the way. Buses, however, stay on the perimeter.
The hotel is nice—probably the best place we’ve stayed so far, although the standards and amenities are still several notches below Western hotels. The staff is kind of surly, but I think that’s just because they don’t understand our questions.
At 2:30, we headed off to the Planning Institute of Jiangsu Province, which is the state planning organization for this region of China. The province is 40,000 square miles (about the size of Virginia) and has 75 million residents. Basically, just picture five Los Angeles Metro areas lined up end-to-end. The Planning Institute has a wide range of responsibilities, including doing long-range planning for many of the cities without the resources to do their own plans.
The planners escorted us into a big conference room with cups of tea and platters of bananas and lychees on the table. It was clear we were “special” guests, as there were about 10 staff members in the room, including one who took photos of us almost continuously for three hours. Several senior staff people were present, including the Director. He welcomed us in the local Mandarin dialect (Dragon translated), and then introduced the speakers. For the next couple of hours, we heard presentations from two staff members and two professors. Only the first presentation was in English—Dragon translated the remainder. However, he is a professional tour guide and not an urban planning translator, so much of the content may have been lost in translation.
The first speaker was the most cogent, describing how planning was done in Jiangsu and giving us some statistics and data on the province. The second speaker highlighted one particular project, which involved connecting two central business districts a few miles apart with a 300-foot wide grand boulevard with fancy stores and high rise towers. The third speaker was from the Public Works Department and gave us a presentation on drainage, all in Chinese (including the powerpoint slides). The final speaker was a professor who talked about how principles of New Urbanism were being applied in the planning of Chinese cities. Again, the language barrier made the presentation difficult, though the concept was intriguing and important.
When we finally got to the Q&A it was already 6 PM. At this point, everyone was pretty tired and a little frustrated that we couldn’t have a more meaningful dialogue. We went on for another half hour, with us responding to their questions about how changes in the Chinese land ownership system would impact planning, and them responding (sort of) to our questions about small business protection, campus planning, growth management, and other topics. We came away with the sense that they could benefit enormously from our collective wisdom and experience, but not without very sophisticated translators and a lot more time and preparation.
We were on our own for dinner tonight. Different groups paired up and went to various places here on the block where the hotel is located.
In driving around Nanjing today, it seems like a very nice city with a high quality of life. The City looks pretty prosperous and some of the architecture is not bad. The historical stuff all looks great. There are several universities, many ancient landmarks, several canals and rivers, and beautiful tree-lined streets with block after block of low-scale apartments with small shops on the ground floor. God help them when Walmart arrives.
At 10 AM, we all reconnoitered in the lobby and boarded our chartered bus for the train station. The bus is standard size, but the streets leading to the hotel were so narrow that people actually had to pull back their store awnings and umbrellas to let us pass through. We made our way back through the construction zone on foot, eventually arriving in the boarding area at the railway station. Shortly after 11, an announcement was made (in Chinese) and hundreds of people began rushing out of the waiting room and on to the platform. We followed the flow. Dragon informed us that the train paused to let passengers off and on for exactly two minutes, which meant all 17 of us (and our luggage) had to move quickly.
After we boarded, the bullet train sailed along to Nanjing, a distance of about 150 miles. The trip took just 90 minutes. It was interesting to watch the scenery flash by along the way—we went through three cities with populations of two million people or more, and I had never heard of any of them. Most of the route was lined with tract after tract of six-story walk up apartment buildings, all arranged like sideways dominos. There was construction and new development everywhere---mostly mid-rise and high-rise housing with occasional big industrial parks in between.
We arrived in Nanjing at around 12:30 and made our way to our bus. The railway station was more like an airport, set on the shores of an attractive lake with a view across to the City skyline. From that vantage point, Nanjing looked much more like an American city than Shanghai or Suzhow. We drove across town to our hotel, which is located in a “pedestrian-only” quarter of the City. I always thought “pedestrian only” meant cars were prohibited, but apparently here it just means the cars drive on the sidewalks and honk so you move out of the way. Buses, however, stay on the perimeter.
The hotel is nice—probably the best place we’ve stayed so far, although the standards and amenities are still several notches below Western hotels. The staff is kind of surly, but I think that’s just because they don’t understand our questions.
At 2:30, we headed off to the Planning Institute of Jiangsu Province, which is the state planning organization for this region of China. The province is 40,000 square miles (about the size of Virginia) and has 75 million residents. Basically, just picture five Los Angeles Metro areas lined up end-to-end. The Planning Institute has a wide range of responsibilities, including doing long-range planning for many of the cities without the resources to do their own plans.
The planners escorted us into a big conference room with cups of tea and platters of bananas and lychees on the table. It was clear we were “special” guests, as there were about 10 staff members in the room, including one who took photos of us almost continuously for three hours. Several senior staff people were present, including the Director. He welcomed us in the local Mandarin dialect (Dragon translated), and then introduced the speakers. For the next couple of hours, we heard presentations from two staff members and two professors. Only the first presentation was in English—Dragon translated the remainder. However, he is a professional tour guide and not an urban planning translator, so much of the content may have been lost in translation.
The first speaker was the most cogent, describing how planning was done in Jiangsu and giving us some statistics and data on the province. The second speaker highlighted one particular project, which involved connecting two central business districts a few miles apart with a 300-foot wide grand boulevard with fancy stores and high rise towers. The third speaker was from the Public Works Department and gave us a presentation on drainage, all in Chinese (including the powerpoint slides). The final speaker was a professor who talked about how principles of New Urbanism were being applied in the planning of Chinese cities. Again, the language barrier made the presentation difficult, though the concept was intriguing and important.
When we finally got to the Q&A it was already 6 PM. At this point, everyone was pretty tired and a little frustrated that we couldn’t have a more meaningful dialogue. We went on for another half hour, with us responding to their questions about how changes in the Chinese land ownership system would impact planning, and them responding (sort of) to our questions about small business protection, campus planning, growth management, and other topics. We came away with the sense that they could benefit enormously from our collective wisdom and experience, but not without very sophisticated translators and a lot more time and preparation.
We were on our own for dinner tonight. Different groups paired up and went to various places here on the block where the hotel is located.
In driving around Nanjing today, it seems like a very nice city with a high quality of life. The City looks pretty prosperous and some of the architecture is not bad. The historical stuff all looks great. There are several universities, many ancient landmarks, several canals and rivers, and beautiful tree-lined streets with block after block of low-scale apartments with small shops on the ground floor. God help them when Walmart arrives.
Suzhou Photos
CLICK TO ENLARGE
From top to bottom:
(1) Presentation by Suzhou Parks and Planning Departments
(2) Ancient City Wall in Suzhou
(3) Scene from the Garden for Lingering
(4) Uighur (Central Asian) Feast
From top to bottom:
(1) Presentation by Suzhou Parks and Planning Departments
(2) Ancient City Wall in Suzhou
(3) Scene from the Garden for Lingering
(4) Uighur (Central Asian) Feast
Suzhou
I’ll be posting this the day after I write it, since we don’t have internet access in tonight’s hotel. I thought about trying an Internet Café, but my phrase book doesn’t include the translation for “may I insert my flash drive in your USB port.” Saying that in Mandarin might get some interesting looks, or might land me in jail.
This morning (Thursday), we assembled in the lobby at 8:30 and were taken by bus to the Shanghai train station. This is a huge Stalinesque building fronting a plaza full of buses, bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trucks, and people with suitcases—all jostling to get through. We carried our luggage to the boarding area and took a 10:20 AM express train to Suzhou. The train speed is 130 MPH, so the trip only took about 40 minutes—a nice, comfortable ride.
Once off the train, we made our way to our shuttle bus through a massive construction zone. Lots of people, lots of confusion, and lots of construction. We boarded the bus and were delivered to the ChangMen hotel, another 15 minutes away. The hotel is inside a gated compound and appears to be a business conference center. It’s a very nice setting with a lake, gardens, and much nicer rooms and amenities than the place in Shanghai. After checking into our rooms, we walked over to the hotel restaurant and had a huge group meal. Cost was about $2.50 US for a smorgasbord of Chinese dishes and cokes.
We got back on the bus and headed to the “Garden for Lingering,” one of the main tourist attractions in Suzhou. The city is known for its ancient gardens, several of which are designated World Heritage sites. At the first garden, we were ushered into a large conference room where we were seated in comfortable chairs at coffee tables set with tea and trays of tomatoes and bananas. We had a very informative presentation on city planning and park planning from senior staff members from the Parks Department and the Construction Bureau. They gave us some good background information on Suzhou, which has a population of about 6 million people (2 million in the central city) and talked about their plans to accommodate another 6 million people in the coming decades.
At least, there seemed to be a greater sensitivity to history and the effects of growth on the existing city. They talked about the importance of parks and gardens, and setting aside land for open space as the city grew. That awareness seemed to be missing in Shanghai, and it was nice to hear the planners acknowledge it here. We bombarded the speakers with questions for over an hour, again anxious to learn how they approach planning in this country.
After the meeting we walked nextdoor to the gardens and spent about an hour doing a self-guided tour. The gardens were originally developed hundreds of years ago and had what we would consider “classic” Chinese features (bonsai trees, lakes, rock sculptures, and a maze of pathways and passages.) We continued from this site (by bus) to the Garden of the Nets, another Classic Chinese landscape. The garden was over 900 years old. Suzhou itself is over 2500 years old and is located on an ancient canal that connected the ocean to Beijing. Portions of the old city wall are still intact.
By 6 PM we returned to our hotel for a 45 minute break. At 7, we were back on the bus again, this time driving to the boat terminus to take a river cruise. This provided another vantage point from which to see the city. From the water, Suzhou has a very Venetian quality, with a “grand canal” and lots of narrow side canals lined with crumbling medieval buildings. It’s astounding to think this place is just 50 miles from Shanghai.
It was already dark out, so many of the shoreline buildings were illuminated with Chinese lanterns and twinkling lights. There were restaurants and cafes along the shore, and in some places pedestrian promenades. Unfortunately, the water was filthy and smelled pretty bad; but still, you got the idea that this was an elegant and special place.
Eventually the boat pulled up to a landing and we disembarked onto a quay. We walked a block or so through a busy pedestrian-only shopping area, arriving at a Muslim restaurant featuring cuisine from Xinjiang province (far Western China). We were led upstairs into a private dining room where women in burkha-like outfits were setting the table. The dinner was a feast that would have made Genghis Khan proud—plate upon plate upon plate of unusual Central Asian dishes. Many of the dishes were made with mutton, but they were nicely seasoned and very tasty. Two of our group (Franco and Jean) were celebrating their birthdays so we even had cake and singing of “Happy Birthday” in Mandarin. A few of us capped the evening with a drink at the hotel bar before calling it a night.
Suzhou seems like a much nicer and more livable city than Shanghai. It is not as prosperous, but the scale seems just about right, and it appears to function pretty well. One wonders, though, if it is only a matter of time before it is gobbled up and becomes “West Shanghai.”
This morning (Thursday), we assembled in the lobby at 8:30 and were taken by bus to the Shanghai train station. This is a huge Stalinesque building fronting a plaza full of buses, bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trucks, and people with suitcases—all jostling to get through. We carried our luggage to the boarding area and took a 10:20 AM express train to Suzhou. The train speed is 130 MPH, so the trip only took about 40 minutes—a nice, comfortable ride.
Once off the train, we made our way to our shuttle bus through a massive construction zone. Lots of people, lots of confusion, and lots of construction. We boarded the bus and were delivered to the ChangMen hotel, another 15 minutes away. The hotel is inside a gated compound and appears to be a business conference center. It’s a very nice setting with a lake, gardens, and much nicer rooms and amenities than the place in Shanghai. After checking into our rooms, we walked over to the hotel restaurant and had a huge group meal. Cost was about $2.50 US for a smorgasbord of Chinese dishes and cokes.
We got back on the bus and headed to the “Garden for Lingering,” one of the main tourist attractions in Suzhou. The city is known for its ancient gardens, several of which are designated World Heritage sites. At the first garden, we were ushered into a large conference room where we were seated in comfortable chairs at coffee tables set with tea and trays of tomatoes and bananas. We had a very informative presentation on city planning and park planning from senior staff members from the Parks Department and the Construction Bureau. They gave us some good background information on Suzhou, which has a population of about 6 million people (2 million in the central city) and talked about their plans to accommodate another 6 million people in the coming decades.
At least, there seemed to be a greater sensitivity to history and the effects of growth on the existing city. They talked about the importance of parks and gardens, and setting aside land for open space as the city grew. That awareness seemed to be missing in Shanghai, and it was nice to hear the planners acknowledge it here. We bombarded the speakers with questions for over an hour, again anxious to learn how they approach planning in this country.
After the meeting we walked nextdoor to the gardens and spent about an hour doing a self-guided tour. The gardens were originally developed hundreds of years ago and had what we would consider “classic” Chinese features (bonsai trees, lakes, rock sculptures, and a maze of pathways and passages.) We continued from this site (by bus) to the Garden of the Nets, another Classic Chinese landscape. The garden was over 900 years old. Suzhou itself is over 2500 years old and is located on an ancient canal that connected the ocean to Beijing. Portions of the old city wall are still intact.
By 6 PM we returned to our hotel for a 45 minute break. At 7, we were back on the bus again, this time driving to the boat terminus to take a river cruise. This provided another vantage point from which to see the city. From the water, Suzhou has a very Venetian quality, with a “grand canal” and lots of narrow side canals lined with crumbling medieval buildings. It’s astounding to think this place is just 50 miles from Shanghai.
It was already dark out, so many of the shoreline buildings were illuminated with Chinese lanterns and twinkling lights. There were restaurants and cafes along the shore, and in some places pedestrian promenades. Unfortunately, the water was filthy and smelled pretty bad; but still, you got the idea that this was an elegant and special place.
Eventually the boat pulled up to a landing and we disembarked onto a quay. We walked a block or so through a busy pedestrian-only shopping area, arriving at a Muslim restaurant featuring cuisine from Xinjiang province (far Western China). We were led upstairs into a private dining room where women in burkha-like outfits were setting the table. The dinner was a feast that would have made Genghis Khan proud—plate upon plate upon plate of unusual Central Asian dishes. Many of the dishes were made with mutton, but they were nicely seasoned and very tasty. Two of our group (Franco and Jean) were celebrating their birthdays so we even had cake and singing of “Happy Birthday” in Mandarin. A few of us capped the evening with a drink at the hotel bar before calling it a night.
Suzhou seems like a much nicer and more livable city than Shanghai. It is not as prosperous, but the scale seems just about right, and it appears to function pretty well. One wonders, though, if it is only a matter of time before it is gobbled up and becomes “West Shanghai.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)